22 June 2006

STEYNING GOOD NEIGHBOURS VISIT MUSEUM

Friendly links between Steyning organisations


Steyning Museum Trust invited the clients of Steyning Good Neighbours to see the new Museum extension on Thursday, 22 June.

Steyning Museum's new extension opened on 1 June. The first group of local people to be invited to see it were the housebound and mostly elderly or disabled clients of Steyning Good Neighbours. The invitation included tea in the nearby Penfold Hall. Chris Tod, the Museum Curator, said: “The benefits of this will be mutual - the memories of local people are an essential heritage resource”.

Steyning Good Neighbours arranges for volunteer “good neighbour” drivers to take people living in Steyning and the surrounding areas to hospital, doctor's appointments or essential shopping expeditions. It is an entirely voluntary organisation, including the volunteer coordinators. Clients do not usually have the opportunity to visit local attractions. One client last year commented that she would love to see the Museum, and so this visit was arranged.

Thirty clients of Steyning Good Neighbours were collected from their homes by Good Neighbours volunteers and escorted around the exhibits by Museum stewards (also volunteers). The tea in Penfold Hall was sponsored by Millicent Honeywood, a past Chairman of Steyning Museum Trust. Tea was accompanied by music provided by Terry Whitney.

Ben McGuire, Chairman of Steyning Good Neighbours, said: “It's lovely to be able to take our clients somewhere more enjoyable than just to the doctor!” but, he pointed out, “Steyning Good Neighbours badly needs more volunteer drivers. It's not much of a commitment, as we only need drivers to offer an hour or two a week, and we pay a mileage allowance”.

Anyone with time to offer should phone Steyning Good Neighbours on 01903 816181.




David Haseldine
Publicity Officer
The Museum,
Church Street,
Steyning,
West Sussex
BN44 3YB

Telephone: 01903 813333
Email: contact@steyningmuseum.org.uk .